Birney's Division 2d Battalion News

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thunder Valley AAR

A combined force of one company of Infantry and one Company of Cavalry under the command of Capt. Bob Penix and Lt. Grant Kirkwood made a reconnaissance into an area outside of McKean, Pa known as Thunder Valley. Friday evening we were able to enjoy a pig roast while the 6th Ohio Cavalry picketed the perimeter to our front. We could see the Reb's campfires as they moved about their camp.

Saturday morning I had the company fall in for a little skirmish drill to sharpen our skills a bit. I had troops detached from the 23rd Ohio, 111th Pa, and 7th Wisconsin for this recon. They had all worked together before so drill was short and sweet.

That afternoon we advanced to the edge of the valley and sent the mounted scouts out. The scouts immediately made contact with the Reb's advance guard, dismounted and formed a skirmish line that held the Reb force in check until we could form up and come to their support.

We kept up our fire to hold their attention while the Cavalry remounted and rode around their flank and attacked the Rebs from the rear. We successfully performed a pincer movement causing Capt. Paul Baltzer to surrender his company and be taken prisoner.

After a short discussion with a crowd of locals that had gathered to see the commotion, we removed the prisoners from the field and paroled them.

Later that evening I sent Lt. Kirkwood out with a small detail to recon the woods to the south. Lt. Kirkwood engaged some Rebs doing the same thing and a running skirmish ensued that netted us a few more prisoners.

Saturday night was cool and a pleasant evening was passed listening to some musicians from the 111th Pa. while some of our troops danced with the local ladies.

Early Sunday morning our pickets reported Rebs moving in the woods to our South. Lt. Kirkwood and I took a platoon of Infantry in from the North and the horse soldiers went into the woods from the East and West. My squad jumped the Reb line and engaged in a fierce firefight. They began to envelope us and the situation was looking bad when the Cavalry crashed through the brush and captured all the Reb with little effort.

Later that morning we were able to attend a worship service with a Confederate Chaplin that came through our pickets to preach the Gospel.

That afternoon I took a small detail of infantry and a squad of mounted cavalry out for a short recon through the woods to our East. The cavalry scouts soon made contact with Reb horse soldiers and opened fire. I brought my infantry up at the double to support the troopers but the force in front of us soon received reinforcements and began pushing us back to the tree line. Their cavalry got into our rear and I was forced to surrender my detail to Capt. Baltzer who chose to remove us from the field under cavalry escort with the intention of executing all of us.

Many thanks to our hosts at Thunder Valley Stables for another great weekend. The pig roast and all the fixin's was worth the trip by itself. It's a great place to camp and the folks there treated us like royalty.

It's not often we get to work closely with mounted troops and I enjoyed it immensely. The troopers from the 6th Ohio Cavalry were the show. They are pleasant to work with and very professional. If you missed this event you should plan to attend next year. It's a short drive from northeast Ohio and well worth the trip.

Faithfully submitted by Capt. Bob Penix - Adjutant, 2nd Batallion
Birney's Division
Army of the Potomac

Posted by CL Smith @ 8:31 AM
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Hale Farm AAR

A special thanks to Rod Johnson for these great pics from Hale Farm. As always, Birney's 2d Battalion had a great time.

Click here to see all of the photos.

Posted by CL Smith @ 12:17 PM
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Thursday, August 07, 2008

More photos from the Gettysburg 145th

Thanks to Dale Leach of the 13th US, here is a great collection of pics from Gettysburg.

Click Here

Posted by CL Smith @ 8:47 AM
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Wednesday, August 06, 2008

2d Battalion Camp at Hale Farm

Maj Van Meter and I did a site survey of the 2d Battalion camp at Hale Farm. This set up will be in the same place as last year but configured a bit differently.

Click Here: to download a map of the camp set up: Hale2008Camp.jpg

There is a specific area reserved for families with wall tents and flys. Families can also camp in the main family camp area by the Hale House if they so desire.

MILITARY PERSONNEL: PLEASE see Maj Van Meter when you arrive for your company street assignment. He will arrive at Noon on Friday. Please do not place your tent until you have reported to him.

Company assignments are:

1st Company - 5th OVI (including the 51st OVI and 74th NY)
2nd Company - 4th OVI, Co. E
3rd Company - 4th OVI, Co. B
4th Company - 105th OVI

Have a safe trip and I will see you this weekend.

Your Servant,
C.L. Smith, Lt Col

Posted by CL Smith @ 5:59 PM
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Perryopolis registration on-line

Sorry for the delay everyone. The registration information for our event in Perryopolis, PA is now on-line. Click here.

Just a little teaser for the event... Depending on the weather, for those units who wish to, we will be marching out of camp and sleeping in the trenches Saturday evening. This will give us an opportunity to get an idea of what the soldiers went through late in the war.

Again, this is strictly voluntary and depends on the weather (your battalion commander doesn't like to sleep in the mud any more than you do!).

Your Servant,
C.L. Smith, Lt Col

Posted by CL Smith @ 1:52 PM
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2009 2d Battalion Events Schedule

May – 22- 24 – Civil War Days
Burton Ohio (& - Lt Col Smith)
CLICK HERE for more information.

July – 25- 26 – Beaver Creek
Canfield, OH (& - Lt Col Smith)
Contact Col Unger for registration for registration.

August – 8-9 – Hale Farm
Bath, OH (& - Lt Col Smith)
CLICK HERE for registration.

September 18-20 – Battle on the Ohio-Erie Canal
Zoar, OH (& - Lt Col Smith)
CLICK HERE for registration.

CLICK HERE to view the entire Birney's Division 2009 schedule.